This should surprise no one who's familiar with my posts in this community, nor, really, anyone who pays attention to my username.

I. Love. The. Joker. Always have, probably always will.

Now, I'm fully aware of the "Batman/the police/some civilian should totally kill this asshole Villain Sue!" sentiment on many corners of the Internet, and I can understand them. Hell, in some ways, I emphasize with them. For the last ten or fifteen years, the man who once proudly called himself the Clown Prince of Crime has been headed down a pretty steep slide into mindless, humorless violence (interspersed with those obnoxious events that shove themselves in our faces and scream "SEE! SEE? THE JOKER IS BATMAN'S #1 VILLAIN AGAIN! HE'S NO LAUGHING MATTER NOW, BABY!"), and if anything, the DCnU and Scott Snyder have only exacerbated it.

And yet... and yet, no matter how low his low points get, they can never quite cancel out the highs. Perhaps those high points will never return, but even if that's so, he's already got plenty under his belt for us to peruse at our leisure.

As the comics world mourns the passing of a legend, let's look back at Batman #1, and the debut of the character Mr Jerry Robinson will forever be connected with. A character with one of the most eponymous calling cards of all time.

...there's a bit of controversy regarding the direction of the Bat books. Some object to Bruce not being a loner. What's with these groups and others wearing the Bat symbol? What's with people looking to Batman as an inspiration when he's just supposed to scare the crap out of everybody, good and evil aike? Bruce publicly funding superheroes? What's with that candle swearing ceremony thing?

They all date back decades, in some cases almost as long as Batman has existed.

My last post kicked up an old debate about superheroes killing villains. So I thought I'd examine the history of a character who is arguably one of the fiercest proponents of the no-killing rule regarding this matter.

He predates the Joker at Batman's first arch-nemesis, and he invented fear toxin before the Scarecrow ever came along.

He exploits Batman's secret identity in ways Ra's al Ghul never dared, attacking Batman in ways that Hush and Dr. Hurt would later try to less success. He even pulled a Kingpin-style tear-down on Bruce exactly one month before Daredevil: Born Again was released, and had already beaten Kraven in the plot to kill his enemy and usurp his identity.

He's made only a handful of appearances, two of which are considered among the greatest Batman stories of all time. By all accounts, he should be Batman's greatest enemy, and yet he resides in obscurity.

He's the Most Interesting Man in the World Professor Hugo Strange. That name, I realize, evokes one of two reactions. 1.) "Who?" or 2.) "Oh, yeah, that guy. What about 'im?"

Now, while I personally love the classic Bat-Rogues dearly--while I still consider the Joker to be the greatest and Two-Face to be my favorite--I've become increasingly intrigued by ol' Hugo in all his iterations. Particularly his original appearance, where--it became apparent to me--that Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Hugo to be the Moriarty to Batman's Holmes. A true Napoleon of Crime for the Depression Era.

So who was this first attempt at an arch-villain for Batman, and what set him apart from any of the other forgettable enemies from the pre-Joker era? Why did the Joker almost instantly usurp his place at Bat-Rogue #1? And what did he have that led him to be resurrected as a major threat a whole thirty-seven years later?

Let's find out together, as we explore the many lives of this mysterious(ly enduring) foe who can plague Batman like no other single villain can even today.

Thankfully, Steve Englehart came up with a way to not just resurrect this notable but one-note villain, but to up his threat levels while also deepening his complexity. Indeed, as of this post, we've only scratched the surface of the great character that Hugo Strange has become.

If you're interested in these reading these stories in their entirety, they can be found reprinted in volumes of Batman Archives and, more affordably, Batman Chronicles.

As has been noted many times, and by infinitely wiser heads than mine, Batman and the Joker have a truly fascinating dynamic... Committed crime buster versus repeatedly committed criminal, implacable order versus capricious chaos, life versus death. This Bob Kane lithograph is one of my favourite images, and it's not even from a comic!

Many, many Superman stories would end with Clark Kent winking at the reader. But Batman would stop mid-story to talk to the audience! Or at least he did in BATMAN #1. The art is by Bob Kane, but I don't know if the story was by Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, Gardner Fox, or someone else.

Reading this stories myself, though, I've noticed an amusing trend that carried through (intentionally?) through all GA versions of the character. At least, I find it amusing. Hopefully, this place being this place, I shan't be the only one. :)

It's one of the earliest examples of a complete story arc told in multiple parts from the Golden Age (a trilogy, no less!), one that cemented Two-Face from the outset as one of Batman's greatest foes, not to mention his most tragic.

And I can pretty damn well guarantee you that the saga of Harvey Kent doesn't end the way you'd expect! As an epilogue, I've included a never-reprinted, little-known postscript to the life and career of Harvey Kent!

A comic showing the debut of superhero Batman has been sold for more than $1m (£655,000) at an auction in Dallas.

The rare 1939 copy of Detective Comic No 27 was bought by an anonymous bidder from a seller who also wished to keep their identity secret.

The sale comes just days after an early edition of a Superman comic sold for $1m - only to be outdone by Batman.

Barry Sandoval, of auction house Heritage, claimed it was the biggest price on record for a comic book

So as a topic of conversation - What's the most you've ever paid for a single issue of a monthly comic? (Graphic Novels and Prestige editions etc don't count unless they have a good anecdote connected with them! :) )

sandoz_iscariot requested scans of the original Batwoman. No, not dark, edgy lesbian Kate Kane. The woman who fought crime like this:

I only have one Batwoman story, from Batman #105, and unfortunately it's 10 pages long, so I can only give you 3 1/3 pages. But it should give you a taste of that Golden Age flavor. ( The Challenge of Batwoman! )

Extras

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